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How to make your iPhone chime every hour

The iPhone has no built-in hourly chime. These are the ways to get one, and the catch with each.

The iPhone itself can't chime on the hour. Apple builds that into Apple Watch only. On the phone you have three options: a Shortcuts automation for each hour, a stack of alarms in the Clock app, or an app that schedules the chimes as notifications. Only the app route covers every hour, quarter hours and chosen days without daily upkeep.

1. Apple Watch Chimes, if you wear a Watch

Apple Watch has an hourly chime built in. On the watch, open Settings, then Accessibility, then Chimes, and choose a schedule (every hour, 30 minutes or 15 minutes) and a sound. The same switch is in the Watch app on the iPhone, under Accessibility. The chime plays on the watch, not on the phone.

So it only helps while you're wearing it.

2. One Shortcuts automation per hour

The Shortcuts app can play a sound or speak a line of text at a set time through a personal automation. Each automation fires at one time of day, so an hourly chime means building one automation for every hour you want, by hand. Want a different sound later, or different hours? You edit every one of them again.

3. An alarm for every hour

You can set a Clock alarm for each hour. It works, but every one of them rings as a full alarm that waits to be dismissed, which is far more than a gentle chime. Quarter hours would take four alarms for every hour.

4. A chime app

A chime app schedules its chimes as local notifications. iOS plays each one at the right moment, even with the phone locked, so nothing has to keep running in the background. Whichever app you pick, check four things:

• it still chimes when the app isn't open;
• it respects your ring switch and Focus settings;
• it offers 30 and 15 minute intervals, if you need them;
• it's clear about what's free and what isn't.

Tinny(not) is one of these apps, and it's the one we make. Others include Hourly Chime in Background and Chime: Speaking Clock. We compared them honestly: Tinny(not) and Hourly Chime in Background, and Tinny(not) and Chime: Speaking Clock.

Setting it up in Tinny(not)

1. Install Tinny(not) from the App Store.
2. Choose your hours: a preset (Work, Waking or All day) or Custom to pick any hours you like.
3. Choose your days. Every Day is free; weekdays, weekends and any other combination are among the extras in the optional one-time purchase.
4. Pick a sound, or the speaking clock to hear the time spoken aloud.
5. Turn on the chime switch and allow notifications when iOS asks.

That's it. From then on the chimes fire whether or not the app is open. If they ever go quiet, the troubleshooting guide walks through the six usual causes, starting with the ring switch and Focus.

Questions

Does the iPhone have a built-in hourly chime?

No. Apple offers hourly chimes only on Apple Watch, under Settings, Accessibility, Chimes. On the iPhone you need Shortcuts automations, alarms, or a chime app.

Can my iPhone chime every 15 minutes?

Yes, with a chime app that offers quarter-hour intervals. Tinny(not) can also give :00, :15, :30 and :45 each a different sound.

Will the chime play while my iPhone is locked?

It will, as long as the app schedules its chimes as notifications, as Tinny(not) does. They still follow the ring and silent switch and any active Focus mode.

Is there a free way to do it?

Shortcuts automations and alarms are free but need one entry per hour. Tinny(not)'s hourly chime with five sounds is free for as long as you use the app.